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Monday, November 26, 2012

There are so many ways we all say yes and no every day. None of us is limited to just one means and our students should be either. In teaching our students a yes/no response we aim for the most universal - verbal and/or head nod/shake (at least in the USA, in English) but if those are not possible any other system is better than none at all. Here is a list of some I have seen used by people with significant special needs over the years:

Thursday, November 1, 2012

I was observing a kindergarten class and the teacher was reading to the children from a book about healthy habits. About half way through the book I heard a little boy call out, “Hey, that’s a wheelchair!”. The teacher looked at the picture and saw the photograph was of a girl using a wheelchair while brushing her teeth. The teacher said, “You’re right, she is using a wheelchair just like you.” The other children smiled at their friend and one girl flashed him a thumbs up. The little boy grinned from his seat in his wheelchair for the rest of the activity. – Kate Ahern, a Special Ed Teacher in Massachusetts

In our Welcoming Schools workshops we often talk about providing students with windows and mirrors: mirrors to help students see themselves reflected in a positive way and windows to help them understand experiences beyond their own.*

This might be an abstract intellectual idea until you observe a boy become delighted by a simple photograph that sends a message that who he is matters. All students, especially those who may be marginalized for any host of reasons, deserve these moments.

You can find an excellent list of children's books which depict diverse individuals at

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